Patient Engagement Software Aimed at Improving Care Transitions and Patient Satisfaction
Standard Register Healthcare (NYSE:SR), a leader in managing patient-centric information and communications, announced the introduction of SMARTworks® EffectiveResponse, a new solution to engage patients after any type of encounter. Unveiled last week at the Healthcare Information Systems Society's (HIMSS) Annual Conference and Exhibition, the innovative software solution automatically follows-up with patients to assure they are progressing as appropriate and to assess patient satisfaction with their care.
"As health care reform puts greater focus on patient satisfaction and improving transitions of care, healthcare organizations need cost-effective solutions that enable them to engage patients beyond discharge and improve prospects for their recovery," said Standard Register Healthcare's President John King. "Certain high-risk, high-resource utilization areas, such as hospital emergency departments(ED), are a logical place to focus. With this solution, we can help customers enhance the quality of care, improve patient satisfaction and ensure successful care transitions."
In fact, a growing body of research demonstrates that contacting individuals after any type of hospital interaction boosts patient satisfaction, mitigates risk and optimizes provider performance. A report by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, describing results of an intervention at a two-hospital system with 90,000 annual ED encounters, indicated that contacting patients the day after an ED visit had helped the hospital consistently achieve 95-99 percent Press Ganey satisfaction scores and reduced the risk of negative outcomes following discharge. Furthermore, in a study presented at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement's 25th Annual National Forum on Quality Improvement in Health Care, poorly-reimbursed admissions for observation, which will gain further CMS scrutiny under the "Two-Midnight Rule," were cut in half.
SMARTworks® EffectiveResponseTM provides that valuable follow-up. It electronically polls patients after any type of encounter via text or email, allowing them to communicate their current condition, comment on their hospital experience and pose any questions about their care. The solution also provides a callback system for patients who do not respond to text or email. A call center operator then poses assessment questions and a console electronically records all answers. Based on a patient's response, department leaders are automatically alerted of issues, so they can take appropriate action.
